Tire-vulcanizing apparatus



Feb. 8, 1944. w 1 EAKlN 2,341,026

TIRE-VULCANIZING APPARATUS Original Filed Dec. 23, 1958 Z 3 F4 5 5 a a as z. 5 I 1 War/Mll- 3 4 5Q 411 [film $175 g mWksWj a l i 5 29 270 i g INVEN TOR.

Patented Feb. 8, 1944 u N l-TED stares; PM a N r or FTC E- TIRE VULCANIZING APPARATUS WillardD. Eakin'; Akron,-0hio= (iriginal applicatiomDecember'23; 1938; Serial N o.

247-,396.-- Di'videdandf this application October 9, 1942, Srial Nb! 461,401

4 Claims. 4 (CI. 18-45) This invention relates toapparatus for vul camzmg-hollow articles such as pneumatic tires:

The present applicationisa division of my 00-- pendihg-application' Ser. No. 247,396, filed De camber 23,- 1938;110W 'UYS'. PhtentNd. 2302,7546.

Heretofore 1 a fluid-expansible' core composed. 0f'or-com'p1ising rubber, usually?'called a water bag," for distending'the tire in a-moldj has been provided with two'inlet and outlet pipes, one" Within the other, one of them'bein'g in communication with the manifold-of a chamber" type vulcanizer or pot heater and the other having communication with the chamber of the heater, except-when the valve is closed, through a valve-which'opens toward the interior of the bag and'isurged'toward its openposition 'byla" spring, the arrangement being" such that when pressure fluid such as" steam or water is conducted into -the-bag from the manifoldthe air contained in the bag, and ste'am'mixed withit;

are drivenout through the valve-to the interior mold-containing'chamber of the vulcanizer until the pressure withinthe'bagis enoughgreater than that in the vulcanizer chamber to causethe valve-toJclose against the force of thespring;

This arrangement has been employed for ridding the'bag of its contained airin" order'to avoid excessive oxidation of the inner 'faceof the bag in successive vulcanizing operationsand in order toavoid theheat insulatingefiect of air pocketed in the bag;

In allapparatus of this general type that has been employed prior to my inventiom'however,

sofar' as I am aware, either twobag-stems have been employed, at opposite sides ofthe tire, as in McLeod 1,118,503; with a filler ringclosing the opening between the beads of thetire' but permitting thepressure fluid to contact them ner face of the'tire, Whicl'ris impracticable ..be"- cause of the ply-separation that'' occurs -in the tireduring its vulcanization; or, as in'B'atcheller 1,175,681, no 'automatically closing' valve has" been employed; or the inlet and outl'e tiopenings' of'the two pipes; in the bag, have been at' an' elevationhalf-way up the'height of the cavity in the "bag"; asinBucy et' al. 2,100,627or Buoy.

etal'. Re. 20561, which has prevented the comw' plet'e'emp'tying of the bagjof curing'wateror of water of condnsa'tion by conducting air or steam intothe bag; or, as in a later modifies,- tion'of the Buoy apparatus, afiexible'pi'pe adapted to 'have its open end at a low'position in the bag, for venting all of thewater down to that valve for closing at a predetermined difference" when the-pressure in the manifol'dis released to'the exterior-of the-vulcanizer to permit the valve spring and the pressure" within the 'vul canizer chamber to f open the valve"and -thus cause's'team from-thatchamber-to' enter-the bag through the valve-controlled conduit and drive the water out through the manifold 'thesteam" has had an openchannel for short-cutting di rectly' from the valve controlled passage into the manifold passage without ever reaching-the freeend of the-flexible tube; and with the steam jet'within the flexible-tube conduit opp'o'sing-th'e entrance of water into the flexible tube."

Also, the jet of "steam flowing'intd the bag;

from either the 'vulcanizer'chamber or from the manifold, has been so close to the mouth" of the water-receiving or air-receiving outlet'from-thabag, when the flexible pipe has been omitted,

that the jet effect of the incoming 'steam"has= caused a suction or fluid-piston efiectwhich',

especially when very "high velocity has been in vo'lved' because of carelessness on the part of the personnel," apparentlyhas interfered to a' sub stantial extent with the" desired outflow Ofhili into the heater chamber, at the beginning ofthe" operation, and with the desired outflow of water, through the manifold, at the end of the operation.

The chief'object's of my inventionare to pro-- vide improved apparatus of thisgeneral' type adapted to provide for positive forcing of substantially all oft'he water from the core at-the' end of the vulcanizing operation; to avoid the" undesirable suction or fluid-piston action of-the fluid jettinginto the bag as above mentioned; to provide a. more efiective and uniformly dependable washing. out of the air from the bag by steam conducted into the bag at the beginning of the operation'even' though the incomingjet is very strong, and the spring-backed valve is quickly ;closed by reason of theoperator letting steam into the cores more rapidly than is contemplated in the setting of thejspring-backed of "pressures on its "two sides; and to provide an assembly in whichthe valvepassage and other passages'are less subject to being clogged bye particles of the 'bagmaterial than in assemblies heretofore employed;

Oi the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentaryjhorizontalmiddle sec tion' of a vulcanizing' core embodying my in-" vention inits preferred -for1n,parts being shown" in elevation.

Fig, 2 is a fragmentary vertical section of a pot heater assembly embodying the invention.

Fig. 3'. is a longitudinal'middle section-ofia valve assembly, hereto-fore known; which is preferred for employment'with other parts of the apparatus.

Referring to the drawing, the apparatus comprises a fluid-expansible core In of which a plurality may be assembled in the usual relationship to tire molds ,l I, II and tires I2, 12 therein in a pot heater l3.

Each core is provided with a fluid-conducting pipe or stem l4 through which the interior of the bag or core is in communication with the interior of the vulcanizer through a lateral spring-backed-valve stem I5 and, within the stem I4, a pipe 16 through which the interior of the bag is in communication with a flexible pipe I! leading from the jointed manifold [8 of the vulcanizer, which in turn is adapted to be put in communication, selectively, with a steamsupply or gas-supply pipe l9 controlled by a valve 20, a water-supply or gas-supply pipe 2| controlled by a valve 22, or a vent pipe 23 leading to a drain and controlled by a valve 24.

The stem I4 is vulcanized in and thereby sealed to the base wall of the core I0, is provided with the usual plates 25, 26 for anchoring it in the rubber of the core, and at its outer end is fitted into a head 21 and sealed thereto by a fiber washer 21 Into a side face of the head 21 is threaded the lateral stem l5, and at its outer end the head 21 is threaded for mating with a bayonet-slot coupling member 28 for attachment to the flexible manifold branch pipe I I.

The spring-backed-valve assembly comprises the lateral stem member l5, formed with a valve seat 29 (Fig. 3) near the inner end of a through passage in which is threaded an apertured springadjusting plug 30 which forms a seat for a compression spring 3! which bears at its inner end against a ball valve 32 to urge the latter away from its seat 29 and toward the inner pipe 16, which latter serve as a stop for the ball. An apertured end cap 33 may be provided for the lateral stem l5.

The inner pipe IE is permanently mounted in and sealed to the wall of a countersink within the head 21, as shown clearly in Fig. 3, and it is desirable that from time to time the head 21 be unscrewed from the stem I4, permanently anchored in the wall of the bag, for cleaning out the inner pipe I6 and of the annular space between it and the outer pipe Hi.

The necessity of thus removing the head 2'! and inner pipe 15 from the stem l4 presented a problem in the matter of having the inner pipe in service communicate directly and positively with a flexible tube 34 within the bag, because the flexible tube 34 has to be placed in the bag before its manufacture is completed and remain jet to be substantially out of the region of the suction 0r fluid-piston effect of the jet, and so as to provide a positive driving out of the water at the end of the operation, I have also solved the above-mentioned further problem by mounting the flexible tube 34 upon an elbow 35 which is rigid with and, for convenience of manufacture is screwed upon, a hollow head member 36 which is rigid with and, for convenience of manufac ture is screwed upon, the outer pipe or stem l4, and in its end wall adjacent the elbow 35 is formed with an aperture in which the inner end of the inner pipe I6 is screwed, so that it may be removed for cleaning while leaving the head 36, elbow 35 and flexible tube 34 in place, and yet when in service provides positive fluid connection from the manifold l8 to the interior of the bag through the flexible tubes 34, the latter thus being provided with the rugged support of the relatively large pipe [4 and its head 36, which have their support in the wall of the bag, close to the elbow 35, and not at the remote position of the other end of the weak inner pipe l6. Also, the small inner pipe, having its only other support at the remote position of its other end, is supported and centered by the engagement of its inner end in the threaded aperture of the head 36.

To provide for flow of fluid through the annular space between the two pipes I6, l4 and through the spring-backed valve assembly, outward from the bag for the washing out of air at the beginning of the operation and into the bag for driving water out through the flexible tube 34 and through the manifold [8 at the end of the operati10n, the head 36 is formed with the apertures 3 ,31.

The stem l4 may be provided with the usual anchorage plates 25, 26 and the flexible tube 34 may be provided with the usual metal nozzle 40 at its free end for directing incoming fluid tangentially in the bag and to serve as a weight for assuring that its mouth will be at the lowermost part of the bag cavity for conducting out sub stantially all of the water.

In the operation of the apparatus as adapted for use with a pot heater as here shown, steam is let into the bags, through the manifold l8 and the flexible tube 34, and mixes with and Washes out air from the core, through the holes 31 and then through the lateral stem I5 and into the heater chamber, until the pressure within the bag is sufficiently greater than that within the chamber tov close the valves 32 against the force of the springs 3|, the pressures preferably being so controlled,

that the valves close only after substantially all of the air has been washed out of the bags.

The vulcanization of the tires is then carried 7 out in the usual way, with either high pressure to the chamber pressure and steam from the chamber enters the bags through the opened valves and by positive static pressure drives sub stantially all of the water from the bags through the flexible pipes 34 and the manifold I8, the free end of the flexible tube 34 of course lying upon the bottom wall or floor of the bag, as shown clearly in Fig. 2.

Various modifications are possible within the scope of the appended claims and the invention is not wholly limited to use in an assembly including a vulcanizer of the pot heater type.

I claim:

1. Tire-vulcanizing apparatus comprising an expansible core, a single core-stem therefor comprising two inlet-outlet pipes one within the other and so locally connected approximately at their inner ends and approximately at their outer ends as to provide a substantially rigid structure defining an inner passage and an annular outer passage surrounding said inner passage, a. tube having an open end at substantially the lowest part of the core cavity, the said tube having its other end secured to the inner end of said structure but being in local communication there with only one of said passages.

2. Tire-vulcanizing apparatus comprising an expansible core, a single core-stem therefor comprising two inlet-outlet pipes one within the other and so locally connected approximatel at their inner ends and approximately at their outer ends as to provide a substantially rigid structure defining an inner passage and an annular outer passage surrounding said inner passage, a tube having an open end at substantially the lowest part of the core cavity, the said tube having its other end secured to the inner end of said structure but being in local communication there with only the inner one of said passages.

3. Tire-vulcanizing apparatus comprising an expansible core, a single core-stem therefor comprising two inlet-outlet pipes one within the other and so locally connected approximately at their inner ends and approximately at their outer ends as to provide a substantially rigid structure defining an inner passage and an annular outer passage surrounding said inner passage, a tube having an open end at substantially the lowest part of the core cavity, the said tube having its other end secured to the inner end of said structure but being in local communication there with only one of said passages, the inner one of said pipes being withdrawable lengthwise from the other elements defined.

4. Tire-vulcanizing apparatus comprising an expansible core, a single core-stem therefor comprising two inlet-outlet pipes one within the other and so locally connected approximately at their inner ends and approximately at their outer ends as to provide a substantially rigid structure defining an inner'passage and an annular outer passage surrounding said inner passage, a tube having an open end at substantially the lowest part of the core cavity, the said tube having its other end secured to the inner end of said structure but being in local communication there with only the inner one of said passages, the inner one of said pipes being withdrawable lengthwise from the other elements defined.

WILLARD D. EAKIN. 

